Time to get grips?

[cheez_4me]

My coach and I were thinking about getting grips after our competition season (last meet in May). I was wondering which grips would be best for me. I want to get grips earlier as opposed to when I'm more advanced so I can get used to them. I was thinking about getting Ten-0 Uneven Bar grips because they have a large variety of "Developmental" grips (I think that's where I am...)

When I get my grips, I will start working on skills like:

• Kips
• Flyaways
• Baby Giants
• A LOT of tap swinging skills

My question is if I should get Beginner Palm Guards, Fingertip Grips w/o a Dowel or Real Dowel grips (<<I don't think so...). I would also appreciate suggestions about grips that you liked.

 

[gymbabisMom]

When Gymbabi got her first grips her coach told us to get the dowel grips because that was what she would need later on when she started swinging giants and such. They felt it was better to get used to one type and keep using it rather than changing. Your current coach or the coach you will be working with when you start working on the bigger skills is probably the best one to ask. You might consider the grips that buckle instead of the ones that velcro though, the buckle seem to need less adjusting when you are actually working on bars. Having said that, Gymbabi won't even consider a buckle even though she has to constantly adjust and has to put a rubber band around them to keep the little end from flapping, but that's what she got used to.

 

[cheez_4me]

Well, I was considering buckle grips, but wouldn't they be a hassle to take on and off? I have a limited bar time already due to the funny on and off schedule that we use at our gym... I also have another question. When I was looking online for grips, I found three types of grips: "Buckle, Velcro, and hook and latch" What's the hook and latch kind? Is that another name for buckle?

 

[flipflopdreamer]

I think I'm at about the same level as you, and working the same skills(I'm rec, though). I got beginner grips not to long ago. Even at the beginner level I'm at, they were still kind of hard to get used to. You might go with the dowel grips, since you would only have to adjust once.

I think the velcro is easier than a buckle would be, but I don't really know, my gym only sells velcro grips and I haven't gone shopping anywhere else.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I'd go straight for the dowel grips. Palmguards don't really help much of anything, but dowel grips make a huge difference once you're used to them.

As for buckle vs velcro, I've always been a velcro guy, but it's really just a matter of personal preference.

 

[JBS]

Go with the dowel grips. I would recommend US Glove grips. We carry them at LeotardCrazy.com. As a coach, I don't allow my gymnasts to wear velcro (they mess with them too much). Velcro or buckle...doesn't really matter, though. Reisport, English Bulldog, and Baile also make great grips.

 

[gracefulone]

I was thinking a/b grips, too. I've benn trying to do clearhip-handstand and things have started going funny.there's a company-gym supply 9.9 or something and they have these hotshots grips-for small hands. they cover less of your palm, so you feel the bar more. Even though I'm a sophomore, my hands are like a size 1 or 2, so they would work.

 

[JBS]

I was thinking a/b grips, too. I've benn trying to do clearhip-handstand and things have started going funny.there's a company-gym supply 9.9 or something and they have these hotshots grips-for small hands. they cover less of your palm, so you feel the bar more. Even though I'm a sophomore, my hands are like a size 1 or 2, so they would work.

Hot Shots are one of our best selling grips. English Bulldog also sells a 'narrow' version of their grips. The Hot Shots and narrow grips are made of soft leather that is already broken in. We sell them both in our pro shop...hint, hint. Check out my sig for a link.

 

[hammy]

I say go with Dowel grips--the palm grips are really a waste of time. They aren't much different than not using grips at all. Most kids have trouble learning how to trust themselves when they have dowel grips on.

 

[GymAunt]

This brings up a thing I've noticed with my niece. She's constantly ripping the palms of her hands open on the bars. She loves the bars and hits those things full force with every bit of speed she can get. She's still really in the beginner phases (she's competing as Prep Op 1/Prep Op 2 this season, competed as L3 last season) and we were wondering why they wait so long before letting the girls wear grips? The L4s at her gym are wearing them, and she's doing some L4/L5 elements in her routines .. seems like the bar-to-bar transitions would be the perfect time to introduce the grips.. that way she doesn't have to re-learn those once she starts wearing them.

 

[JBS]

This brings up a thing I've noticed with my niece. She's constantly ripping the palms of her hands open on the bars. She loves the bars and hits those things full force with every bit of speed she can get. She's still really in the beginner phases (she's competing as Prep Op 1/Prep Op 2 this season, competed as L3 last season) and we were wondering why they wait so long before letting the girls wear grips? The L4s at her gym are wearing them, and she's doing some L4/L5 elements in her routines .. seems like the bar-to-bar transitions would be the perfect time to introduce the grips.. that way she doesn't have to re-learn those once she starts wearing them.

It just depends on the coach. Grips can cause rips around the wrist and it is still common to rip while using grips...so it's not a complete fix. The main purpose of a grip is to help the gymnast hang on better. If the gymnast is not having a problem hanging on...most coaches won't rush the process. Coaches do like the gymnasts to get grips well before they use them in a meet as there is a learning curve with them. It seems to me that most gyms (in the US) try to get there gymnasts in grips sometime before level 5 with more and more gyms moving to before level 4.

 

[gymbabisMom]

Gymbabi got hers for level 5. She's had some of the biggest rips she ever had since she started using them. She had rips on her wrists from her grips for about 6 months when learning giants. We had a girl in our gym that was doing giants without grips at all, but when she moved to our former gym they made her start wearing them right away. I'm not sure why.

 

[cheez_4me]

Well, I thought that if you got a wristband you wouldn't rip as much on your wrists... Am I wrong? Because I know that it would HURT to wear grips w/o them.

 

[Front Tumbler]

I got real dowel grips as soon as I got my kips, and they've worked great for me -- I really had no problem adjusting.

I wear wristies with them, though it's not really needed since they are velcro with padding. I don't think I could get used to the one's with the buckles, and I just use a rubber band to keep the velcro from coming undone. And I know a few girls who've learned giants without grips, but as soon as they start learning harder moves, they find they have to start wearing grips. I personally think it's just a whole lot easier to have grips in the first place when you start working harder moves like giants.

 

[JBS]

Well, I thought that if you got a wristband you wouldn't rip as much on your wrists... Am I wrong? Because I know that it would HURT to wear grips w/o them.

Some gymnasts wrists rip a lot and others do not. It is still very easy to rip your wrists with wristbands on. The key is to eliminate as much friction as possible (keep your grips tight so they don't slide around).

 

[hammy]

I noticed that i ripped my wrists more once I was doing optional level gymnastics. I wore my grips extremely tight (my hands were usually red when i did bars), but I still ripped a lot--I think it really all depends on how hard you are swinging, your skin, and of course--the friction factor.

 

[midwestgymmom]

Go with the dowel grips. I would recommend US Glove grips. We carry them at LeotardCrazy.com. As a coach, I don't allow my gymnasts to wear velcro (they mess with them too much). Velcro or buckle...doesn't really matter, though. Reisport, English Bulldog, and Baile also make great grips.

JBS I posted this elsewhere but my dd's coach told me last week to get US Glove dowel grips and I ordered them from here late last week and they came the other day Good Job

 

[jasmine196]

Once our girls get to Level 4 and if they are older than 8 years old we have them get dowel grips. Our girls get the "Just Right" grips. They are much more narrower and the girls have an easier time adjusting to them. We feel that even at Level 4 they should get used to the grips, cause come Level 5 your already starting to swing.

All our girls use the extra long wrist bands, and we haven't really had many problems with them ripping on their wrists. However, I do have one level 5 who is 13 years old who is using a prescription pill for her pimples, it really causes her to rip at least 2 to 3 times a practice. Luckly, she is used to it now.

 

[awposey1]

My daughter wears a brand of dowel grips made by Bailie that have one buckle and a velco strap. The are made for elites (she is a hard bar worker and goes through grips pretty quick). She likes the buckle and then can velcro for security. You get them from www.gymsupply.com and they are called Bailie Extreme Grips Women's Buckle Hook & Loop combo

 

[GymnastRaeRae87]

I like the buckle grips. They make me feel more secure. I agree with JBS about playing with velcro...I think velcro can be a distraction. I like the buckle because I can make them tight without being too tight and they stay nice like that.